Wawanesa Mutual, the property-casualty mutual, posted record consolidated net income in 2024, despite very difficult conditions. On the life insurance side, Wawanesa Life maintained its earnings.

Wawanesa is a mutual insurer that mainly offers property and casualty insurance, but also distributes life and group insurance coverage to its members. Founded in 1896 by some twenty farmers from the Manitoba town of the same name, Wawanesa's most recent annual report notes that it has 1.87 million policies in force, including 31,000 new customers in 2024.

In her message to members, Catherine Best, Chair of the Board of Directors, highlights the retirement of Jeff Goy, after 35 years with the mutual, including 11 years as President and CEO, and the appointment of his replacement, Evan Johnston, in the position since Jan. 1, 2025. Johnston was first hired in 2016. Having moved up in Wawanesa, he understands and appreciates the insurer’s mutualist culture, she says. 

In his own message to members, Johnston says that growth will include a continued focus on commercial lines, as well as business expansion in Eastern Canada. The mutual opened its new headquarters in Winnipeg in 2024, “keeping our prairie roots firmly planted while strengthening the way we support Canadians nationwide as a leading mutual insurer,” he states.

For his part, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Gord Dowhan highlights the impact of the four major losses that hit the country in 2024, resulting in collective losses for insurers of $8.5 billion. He also notes the challenge posed by the automobile insurance market conditions imposed on insurers by the Alberta government.

In life and health insurance, growth in group business enabled the Wawanesa Group to post a 10% increase in gross written premiums across all business lines, and to surpass the $4 billion mark by the end of 2024. 

Thanks to investment results, the contribution of its brokerage subsidiary Western Financial Group and its member retention rate, consolidated net profit reached $443 million for the general insurance subsidiary, notes Dowhan. This represents an increase of 9.5%. In 2023, net profit reached $405 million.

The mutual paid out some $232 million in claims to Alberta victims of the Jasper fire and Calgary hailstorm.

Premiums  

The volume of gross premiums written in property and casualty insurance climbed by over $314 million, or 9.2%, to reach $3.7 billion in 2024.

This increase in volume is largely attributable to automobile insurance, where premiums were up 13% over the previous year. Growth was more moderate in home insurance (8%) and more modest in commercial insurance, including farm insurance, where growth was 3.2%.

Combined ratio 

The undiscounted P&C combined ratio stood at 111.6% in 2024, a difference of 12.9 percentage points on the 2023 figure of 98.7%. As a result, P&C underwriting posted a net loss of $161 million ($M) in 2024, compared with a surplus of $294 million the previous year.

“While we’re not pleased with our underwriting results, which ended a three-year run of positive underwriting, Wawanesa remains financially strong,” says Dowhan.

In auto insurance, the combined ratio climbed 16.6 percentage points to 122.9% in 2024. In personal property insurance, the combined ratio reached 101.9%, up 1.5 percentage points.

The combined ratio for commercial lines was 108.8% in 2024, an increase of 26.1 percentage points over the previous year. In agricultural insurance, the combined ratio was 87.7% in 2024, an increase of 2 percentage points.

Despite this more difficult claims year, the general insurance mutual posted a capitalization rate of 272% at Dec. 31, 2024, compared with 256% a year earlier.

Life and health insurance  

Wawanesa Life, the mutual's life and health insurance subsidiary, distributes term, permanent and critical illness policies, as well as annuities through segregated funds. Launched 62 years ago, the company uses the independent brokerage channel exclusively.

The company's assets total $1.9 billion. Some 105,000 individual policies are in force. In group insurance, some 127,000 employees are covered.

Net premiums and equivalents totaled $231 million in 2024, up 32% over the previous year. Most of this volume was generated through group plans (73%), while individual products accounted for 24% of life and health insurance business.

In terms of the Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT), the company posted a rate of 165% at Dec. 31, 2024, compared with 160% a year earlier.

The subsidiary achieved earnings of $14.2 million in 2024, quite similar to the $14.3 million reported the previous year.